Alabama Defeats Vanderbilt, 17-6 : SEC: No. 2 Crimson Tide extends winning streak to 25, best in the nation, behind Barker.

Jay Barker still sees room for No. 2 Alabama to improve.

He threw for a touchdown and 279 yards Saturday as the defending national champion beat Vanderbilt, 17-6, in the Southeastern Conference opener for both teams.

The victory extended Alabama’s winning streak to 25 games, best in the nation, and made Barker 19-0 as the Crimson Tide’s starting quarterback. He tied Louisiana State’s Warren Rabb (1957-1959) for consecutive victories by an SEC starter.

“We’ve just got to keep getting better if we want to continue the winning streak,” he said.

Coach Gene Stallings said he saw several mistakes that need to be corrected. Tailback Sherman Williams, who passed to David Palmer for a 63-yard touchdown play, agreed.

“With (nearly) 500 total yards, we should have scored at least six or seven touchdowns,” Williams said. “We should’ve come away with more points. Each week, we’ve got to get better.”

Alabama (2-0), which hasn’t lost to the Commodores (1-1) since 1984, struggled at times against a Vanderbilt defense that sacked Barker four times.

But Barker was nearly perfect, completing 16 of 20 passes, as the Tide rolled up 484 yards. Alabama held Vandy’s I-Bone rushing offense, which gained 431 yards in beating Wake Forest last week, to 229 yards.

Palmer finished with two touchdowns and 217 yards, breaking the Alabama record for receiving yardage of 187 set by David Baily against Auburn in 1969.